(no subject)
If I hadn't kept a Journal I would never have remembered the day after Mother's Day ten years ago.
I lived in Seattle just up the hill from Green Lake Park which was very crowded this morning after Mother's Day. Many folks had brought Mom for a walk around the lake. I brought my Mum too, in my head. I sat on a bench and talked very quietly to her for a while. I didn't move my lips much or make a noise, scared that they would be come after me with a giant butterfly net!!!
Ang: So Mum. How'm I doing?
Mum: I'd say you're doing well. It's a strange old world, isn't it?
Ang: Yep, it sure is. I often think of you saying that. You had some good sayings.
Mum: I did, didn't I?
Ang: Oh, I can rhyme some of them off. 'Brighter days ahead.' 'This time tomorrow it will all be a memory.' 'Worse things happen in China.' 'She doesn't know how many beans make five.'
Mum: *laughs* I used to say that about Auntie Jean, didn't I?
Ang: *laughs too* Ooooh, remember when we used to call them Uncle Jean and Auntie Jim?
Mum: I was always nervous that you kids would forget and call them that to their faces. You were right though. They were a strange pair! *laughs*
Ang: And speaking of strange, what about Auntie Julia? She had to be Queen of the Strange.
Mum: Good heavens yes. Remember when she came to stay and I caught her cleaning my bathroom with Dettol? I was so insulted!
Ang: I don't blame you! *smirks* I have never forgotten keeping lookout while you loosened the Dettol lid and put it back in her suitcase, just before she left. *laughs* Eau de Dettol on all her clothes - sweet revenge. I bet she never suspected it was us.
*we chuckle at this*
Ang: Oh! Here's another one I often think of. 'Old age ain't for sissies.' I can certainly relate to that one these days!
Mum: I know. How's that hip, anyway?
Ang: Eh, it's okay. But wow, your leg pain... I didn't appreciate at the time just how much it must have affected your life.
Mum: We're both carriers of the Stoic gene, I think, Ang. It does get to you after a while though, doesn't it?
*Ang nods*
Ang: One of your sayings that I could never figure out was 'I'm not so green as I'm cabbage-looking.' Just what did that mean, anyway?
Mum: Hmmm. I don't really know. My mother used to say that all the time too.
*we both laugh*
Ang: I often think of your Mum too. I believe the Wanderlust Gene was passed down from her through you to me.
Mum: Why do you say that, Ang?
Ang: Well, she married and moved to the Sudan, where you and Uncle Eric were born. You moved from England to Canada in your mid-life. And I carried on the tradition, moving here to the Left Coast later in life.
Mum: Yes, we all left our familiar and comfortable surroundings to have an adventure, didn't we?
*we sit quietly for a bit, looking out at the water*
Ang: Do you remember when I used to take you down to Lake Ontario in your wheelchair? We'd sit and watch the ducks, and remember your duck trips with Brian and Alison.
Mum: *smiles*. We always took bread so they could feed the ducks. I remember Alison was very enthusiastic. She fell in the water once - scared me to bits.
Ang: That must be a tradition too. I remember falling in the water at Penarth when I was about 5. Grandma pulled me out by the hair!
Mum: Oh yes! I recall that too. I was so glad she'd been standing next to you.
Ang: I'm heading off to Canada in a couple of weeks, for my yearly reunion with the kids and families. I'm counting down the days.
Mum: I know. :)
Ang: It's tough, sometimes, being so far away.
Mum: I know that too. It's a strange old world, isn't it?
Ang: That it is, Mum. It's full of choices and consequences.
Mum: Aren't we lucky that our hearts don't forget?
*we both smile*
Ang: Time to move on, I suppose. Love you, Mum
Mum: Love you too Ang. Ta-ta for now.
I lived in Seattle just up the hill from Green Lake Park which was very crowded this morning after Mother's Day. Many folks had brought Mom for a walk around the lake. I brought my Mum too, in my head. I sat on a bench and talked very quietly to her for a while. I didn't move my lips much or make a noise, scared that they would be come after me with a giant butterfly net!!!
Ang: So Mum. How'm I doing?
Mum: I'd say you're doing well. It's a strange old world, isn't it?
Ang: Yep, it sure is. I often think of you saying that. You had some good sayings.
Mum: I did, didn't I?
Ang: Oh, I can rhyme some of them off. 'Brighter days ahead.' 'This time tomorrow it will all be a memory.' 'Worse things happen in China.' 'She doesn't know how many beans make five.'
Mum: *laughs* I used to say that about Auntie Jean, didn't I?
Ang: *laughs too* Ooooh, remember when we used to call them Uncle Jean and Auntie Jim?
Mum: I was always nervous that you kids would forget and call them that to their faces. You were right though. They were a strange pair! *laughs*
Ang: And speaking of strange, what about Auntie Julia? She had to be Queen of the Strange.
Mum: Good heavens yes. Remember when she came to stay and I caught her cleaning my bathroom with Dettol? I was so insulted!
Ang: I don't blame you! *smirks* I have never forgotten keeping lookout while you loosened the Dettol lid and put it back in her suitcase, just before she left. *laughs* Eau de Dettol on all her clothes - sweet revenge. I bet she never suspected it was us.
*we chuckle at this*
Ang: Oh! Here's another one I often think of. 'Old age ain't for sissies.' I can certainly relate to that one these days!
Mum: I know. How's that hip, anyway?
Ang: Eh, it's okay. But wow, your leg pain... I didn't appreciate at the time just how much it must have affected your life.
Mum: We're both carriers of the Stoic gene, I think, Ang. It does get to you after a while though, doesn't it?
*Ang nods*
Ang: One of your sayings that I could never figure out was 'I'm not so green as I'm cabbage-looking.' Just what did that mean, anyway?
Mum: Hmmm. I don't really know. My mother used to say that all the time too.
*we both laugh*
Ang: I often think of your Mum too. I believe the Wanderlust Gene was passed down from her through you to me.
Mum: Why do you say that, Ang?
Ang: Well, she married and moved to the Sudan, where you and Uncle Eric were born. You moved from England to Canada in your mid-life. And I carried on the tradition, moving here to the Left Coast later in life.
Mum: Yes, we all left our familiar and comfortable surroundings to have an adventure, didn't we?
*we sit quietly for a bit, looking out at the water*
Ang: Do you remember when I used to take you down to Lake Ontario in your wheelchair? We'd sit and watch the ducks, and remember your duck trips with Brian and Alison.
Mum: *smiles*. We always took bread so they could feed the ducks. I remember Alison was very enthusiastic. She fell in the water once - scared me to bits.
Ang: That must be a tradition too. I remember falling in the water at Penarth when I was about 5. Grandma pulled me out by the hair!
Mum: Oh yes! I recall that too. I was so glad she'd been standing next to you.
Ang: I'm heading off to Canada in a couple of weeks, for my yearly reunion with the kids and families. I'm counting down the days.
Mum: I know. :)
Ang: It's tough, sometimes, being so far away.
Mum: I know that too. It's a strange old world, isn't it?
Ang: That it is, Mum. It's full of choices and consequences.
Mum: Aren't we lucky that our hearts don't forget?
*we both smile*
Ang: Time to move on, I suppose. Love you, Mum
Mum: Love you too Ang. Ta-ta for now.